Family: 12-Year-Old Daughter Died Hours After Getting HPV Vaccine

BALTIMORE - APRIL 5: Nurse Coordinator Lisa Chrisley (L) injects an experimental flu vaccine into the body of volunteer Michelle Levender (R), a medical school student, during a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of the vaccine to combat avian influenza April 5, 2005 at University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. The trial aims to find out if the vaccine can protect people from a lethal avian flu strain, also known as H5N1, which was first detected in chickens and other birds in Hong Kong in 1997, claiming the life of a three-year old boy. There have been at least 69 more confirmed cases with 46 deaths since then, mostly in Vietnam and Thailand. University of Maryland School of Medicine was one of three U.S. sites that took part in the trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)The CDC recommends an HPV vaccine for all boys and girls ages 11 and 12. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WAUKESHA, Wisc. (CBS Atlanta) – A Wisconsin family says their 12-year-old daughter died within hours after being vaccinated for the human papilloma virus, or HPV, reports WISN-TV.

Rebecca Prohaska says hours after being checked for a sore throat and getting the first dose of the vaccine, her daughter Meredith lost consciousness.

“She had just thrown up, and I found her on the floor, right as I walked in,” Prohaska said.

It’s not clear whether Meredith’s death was directly caused by the vaccine. Prohaska says they’re looking into whether her daughter suffered an asthma attack or some sort of allergic reaction to the shot.

Prohaska says she was just trying to do the right thing for her daughter.

“Who doesn’t want to keep their child from harm and keep them safe, and this was a preventative measure,” she told the station.

She doesn’t know what killed her daughter. Prohaska said they’re looking into asthma or a possible allergic reaction to the shot.

The human papilloma virus is spread through sexual contact, common with teenagers, and can cause cervical cancer.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, nearly all sexually active men and women get it as some point in their lives. The CDC recommends all boys and girls ages 11 or 12 get vaccinated.